DUSTING
OFF THE OLD V&A: London's beleaguered Victoria &
Albert Museum, trying to shore up sagging attendance and public
perceptions of incompetence, has hired a marketing company to
work on the museum's image. A report earlier this month "attributed
the museum's difficulties to poor marketing and an excessively
highbrow image."The Guardian
(London) 02/27/01

THE MUSEUM EVERYONE
LOVES TO HATE: A National Audit Office report
announced that Londonís V&A Museum receives the lionís share
of government funding, although its attendance continues to
dwindle. But has the media unfairly trumpeted the negative charges
and overlooked the reportís more balanced claims? "The
report is actually a balanced and, in places, mildly complimentary
document. Some of the museumís educational work is praised.
So is its achievement of making most of its four million treasures
available to the public."The
Times (London) 2/26/01

WHAT
HAPPENS IF NOBODY WANTS THE JOB? Before London's Victoria
& Albert Museum selected its new director last week, headhunters
had offered the job to several international candidates, but
had been turned down. "It is known they encouraged quite
a number of people to apply from all over the world. It subtly
undermines the candidature in the end." The
Independent (London) 02/11/01

JONESING
FOR THE V&A: Many believe that the Victoria & Albert
Museum needs a charismatic figure to pull it out of a prolonged
slump. But Mark Jones, named last week as new director, "is
seen as a subtle networker, a scholarly figure, adept at behind-the-scenes
politicking but unlikely to stamp his personality on the V&A
in a radical shake-up. Yet that is exactly what some critics
claim is needed to save the 149-year-old museum from dwindling
attendances and a nightmarishly bureaucratic way of working."
The
Guardian (London) 02/13/01

HOPE
FOR THE V&A? London's Victoria and Albert Museum has
been a mess for decades. Now "the reliably clumsy V&A
trustees have finally announced the name of the new director.
The result could be good news. It could be terrible news. Who
knows? Mark Jones may not be an entirely unknown quantity -
he has been running the National Museums of Scotland since 1992
- but he is untested at the highest level and was certainly
the darkest of the three horses in the race."The
Sunday Times (London) 02/11/01